SENIOR SCHOOL
Boarding update
There is an air of excitement around the boarding halls this year as we prepare to transition to co-educational boarding in 2020 .
There has been significant interest in girls ’ boarding as the plans for our new facility continue to move forward and the initial designs have now been shared with the wider community . The state-of-the-art facility will see boys and girls , brothers and sisters from all year groups , living together as one community , embracing all the benefits of a shared living experience . There will be break-out spaces for boys and girls to learn together and relax together and to enjoy all the social and emotional benefits of a co-educational environment . There will be also gender specific living areas and year specific areas so that boys can be boys and girls can be girls , with same gender students of their own year group . The facility allows for the individual development of every child while still connecting them to the rest of the community . Upon completion , this facility will be an extraordinary unique addition to the boarding community in Perth ; a place where families can send their sons and daughters so that they can continue to live together while receiving a world-class education .
As always , we will be engaging with families in the regional areas through the various field days this year and it would be great to have our Old Guildfordians come along and visit our stands to receive an update on the School and its facilities .
In the meantime , we continue to nurture the wonderful boarding culture that we
Adventure World .
have at Guildford Grammar School . It is a place where our boarders live and learn together on a campus that is uniquely rural , yet still only 15 kilometres from the Perth CBD . Our geographical position has allowed for an array of weekend recreational activities , some on and some off campus , and all designed to promote a happy and positive experience for our students . These activities have so far included fishing on the Swan River , archery , paddle boarding , golf on the Flats , swimming in the Preparatory and Senior School Pool , watching WAFL and AFL football games , Adventure World , dragon boat racing , indoor surfing , quiz nights with other schools , bush dances and ice-skating , just to mention a few . Our boarders love attending these events and making the
most of everything our Recreation Program has to offer .
Our Academic Program continues to thrive and we have added several Senior School teaching staff to our boarding roster this year . We welcome Ms Gemma Haddleton ( Science ), Ms Ashleigh Barron ( Health and Physical Education ), Mr Adam Preston ( Design and Technology ) and Mr Harry Dobson ( Humanities and Social Sciences ). Not only are these all wonderful pastoral practitioners , but their knowledge in specific academic fields makes them extremely valuable resources for our boarders during evening study times .
While our junior boarders benefit from the same academic routines as our senior boarders they have also enjoyed our ‘ Un- Plug Thursday ’ initiative which focuses on their social and emotional development . The program provides a modified academic structure every Thursday night which frees up the evening time following dinner so that the students can engage with relatively un-structured play time . This time is vitally important for young children to learn from and share their thoughts and feelings with one another . It develops good listening skills and empathy , kindness and grace between our boarders , something that we value in our boarding halls , above all else .
Mr Matthew Weston Head of Boarding
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